This is her time to wear gay, bright colours, for as a married woman she
must dress very soberly. A party of moosmes tripping along to a feast or a
fair looks like a bed of brilliant flowers set in motion. They wear kimonos
of rich silks and bright shades, kimonos of vermilion and gold, of pink,
of blue, of white, decorated with lovely designs of apple-blossom, of silk
crape in luminous greens and golden browns, every shade of the rainbow
being employed, but all in harmony and perfect taste. If a shower comes on
and they tuck up their gaily-coloured and embroidered kimonos, they look
like a bed of poppies, for each shows a glowing scarlet under-kimono, or
petticoat.

Not only is this the time for the Japanese girl to be gaily dressed, but it
is her time to visit fairs and temples, and to enjoy the gaieties which may
fall in her way: for when she marries, the gates which lead to the ways of
pleasure are closed against her for a long time. The duties of a Japanese
wife keep her strictly at home, until the golden day dawns when her son
marries and she has a daughter-in-law upon whom she may thrust all the
cares of the household. Then once more she can go to temples and theatres,
fairs and festivals, while another drudges in her stead.

Marriage is early in Japan. A girl marries at sixteen or seventeen, and to
be unmarried at twenty is accounted a great misfortune. At marriage she
completely severs herself from her own relations, and joins her husband's
household. This is shown in a very striking fashion by the bride wearing
a white kimono, the colour of mourning; and more, when she has left her
father's house, fires of purification are lighted, just as if a dead body
had been borne to the grave. This is to signify that henceforward the bride
is dead to her old home, and her whole life must now be spent in the
service of her husband and his relations.